Thursday, March 22, 2001

3/22/01

Learn from the wisdom of the Transaction Oracle.

Anaheim Angels

Reassigned P Aaron Small to minor league
camp.

ORACLE SAYS: Hasn?t played
in the majors since 1998 when he pitched well for the Diamondbacks after a
grisly first half for the A?s.? Doesn?t look like he?s going to get any more
major league jobs at this point.

Released OF Alex Diaz

ORACLE SAYS: Looks like
time has run out for Alex Diaz.? He?s not even getting the 50 bad at-bats
a year like hd did in the good old days.

Assigned IF Justin Baughman to minor league camp.

ORACLE SAYS: He?s never
been a very good prospect due to his inability to hit, but he was once highly
thought-of by the organization.? Baughman then broke his leg and missed an
entire season.? He came back in 2000 and while his speed was back, his bat
had regressed considerably, hitting only 234/318/281 in 303 at-bats for Edmonton.?

Agreed to terms on a four-year contract, with an option for a fifth year,
with C Bengie Molina.

ORACLE SAYS: He?s not great, but the Angels aren?t exactly loaded with
alternatives and at just over $1 million per, it?s a nice little signing.

Released P Mike Romano.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Optioned OF Rob Ryan and
P Bret Prinz to Tucson (AAA).?

Assigned P Anthony Chavez and C Brad Creese to minor league camp.

ORACLE SAYS: I?ve always liked Chavez, but none of these guys were expected
to make the team.

Chicago White Sox

ORACLE SAYS: The David
Wells trade continues to unravel.? Williams was also injured, so DeWitt heads
back to White Sox.

Chicago Cubs

Agreed to a four-year contract extension.with OF Sammy Sosa.

ORACLE SAYS: 72 million
dollars.? Top dollar, but unlike at the time of the signing of the last contract,
Sosa?s an excellent player.? Now the Cubs just have to hope that the .320
OBP Sammy So-So of? the mid-90s has been officially banished from their kingdom.

Returned IF Hee Sop Choi and OF Scarborough Green to minor league camp.

ORACLE SAYS: Choi?s a
top prospect and will be back.? Green isn?t and won?t.

Cincinnati Reds

Signed OF Ruben Rivera to a one-year contract.

ORACLE SAYS: Will never be the player the Yankees thought he would, but
he?s certainly more useful than Deion Sanders.

Placed P Seth Etherton on the 60-day disabled
list with a right shoulder injury.

ORACLE SAYS: He fell short in his bid for the final rotation spot, but this
is still bad news.

Optioned IF Gookie Dawkins to Louisville
(AAA).

ORACLE SAYS: His diappointing 2000 season
soured his chances considerably.? Even if he can?t hit, however, that never
stopped Bob Boone before.

ORACLE SAYS: All expected moves here.?
The Indians position players are pretty much set.

Colorado Rockies

Optioned P Craig House and IF Elvis Pena
to Colorado Springs (AAA).

ORACLE SAYS: House is a bullpen prospect
who pitched well at 4 levels in 2000, succeeding until the majors.? Bullpen
prospects, of course, are very iffy in general.? Pena has had some nice on-base
percentages at Carolina the last two years and can handle shortstop.? He was
a little old for AA, however, but 2001 should be interesting.

ORACLE SAYS: Inge is the most notable name
of this group.? A catcher converted from shortstop, the Tigers have been very
happy with his defense at catcher.? Problem is that he?s not likely to hit
very much and didn?t hit at all once he was promoted to Toledo last year.

Optioned OF Andres Torres to Erie (AA).

ORACLE SAYS: Gary Pettis.

Reassigned Ps Mark Johnson and Sean Runyan,
IF Kurt Bierek, and OF Jermaine Allensworth to minor league camp.

ORACLE SAYS: Organizational players, mostly.?
Allensworth was always overhyped, but that?s died off by now.

Signed P Rich DeLucia

Houston Astros

ORACLE SAYS: Like Dawkins, Everett was
fairly disappointing in 2000.? He?ll have a future fight with Julio Lugo.?
Ensberg had a big 2000.? It might have been a fluke, but I probably would
still play him over Chris Truby.

ORACLE SAYS: McKnight is the most significant
player here, one of Houston?s plethora of good-but-not-great starters in the
minors.? Probably needs a whole season at New Orleans and has to bring up
his strikeouts.?

Milwaukee Brewers

ORACLE SAYS: ?Franklin could have been useful
for the Brewers, but was a long shot.? Brown?s stock has come down considerably
and is probably at the level it should be.? I still find the Brant Brown,
Centerfielder experiment a few years ago to be one of the funniest things
around.

Minnesota Twins

ORACLE SAYS: Perhaps the Twins should give
up drafting players and save the money.? A good manager focuses on what a
player can do and uses him in a role in which his positive abilities can help
the team.? A bad manager focuses on what a player can?t do and uses his weaknesses
to punish him.? Tom Kelly?s below the latter now, and is a serious hindrance
to the Twins ever being a competitive team again as Twins fans are treated
to the likes of Tom Prince, Otis Nixon, and Ron Coomer because of Kelly killing
off any youngster he touches.? Kelly hasn?t done a single positive thing for
almost a decade now and it?s time for the Twins to axe him so he can become
a bad television personality like Harold Reynolds.?? How many organizations
are so inept that prospects actually tell newspapers that they would rather
play for Salt Lake City than for Tom Kelly?

Signed 3B Corey Koskie to a three-year contract with a club option for 2004.

New York Mets

Signed OF Tony Tarasco

ORACLE SAYS: No longer a prospect at this point.

New York Yankees

Traded OF Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati
Reds for 3B Drew Henson and OF Michael Coleman.

ORACLE SAYS: Henson is still set on football
and Coleman apparently isn?t liked by the team, so the Reds dump them for
whatever they can get.? Pena actually signed a major league contract, so he
has to be in the majors to stick by 2003.? Fat chance.? Pena was horrible
at A-ball in 2000, with plate discipline that would make Marlon Brando blush.?
People always bash the Yankees for overhyping their prospects, but since these
guys seem to find their ways to other organizations while New York keeps the
Jeters, the Yanks are the ones laughing.

ORACLE SAYS: Almonte is a pretty decent
SS prospect that has been overlooked quite a bit due to the more prominent
Soriano and Guzman.? Johnson?s one of the best reasons to follow the minors
this year.? If he can regain 1999 form, he?ll be one of the best 1B in baseball.

Oakland Athletics

ORACLE SAYS: Hart will have to force his
way onto the A?s by killing the ball the next couple of years because with
the Giambis, Saenz, and Piatt around, there will be no free jobs.? Encarnacion
has always been highly touted, but I don?t think he?ll ever be much of a player.

Assigned Ps Jon Ratliff and Steve Schrenk
and OF Andy Abad to minor league camp.

ORACLE SAYS: Rivera, La Chica as Padre
fans have dubbed him, has been blamed in San Diego for everything from the
California energy crisis to the Union army?s failure at Cold Harbor in 1864.?
Contrary to urban legend, the loss of Rivera won?t magically make Phil Nevin
into Mike Schmidt or Eric Owens into as good a player as his fans think he
is:? a very replaceable 4th outfielder that will be easily replaced.?
Apparently not by Colangelo, unfortunately, who has high upside if he can
stay healthy.? Henderson could probably contribute to a contender a little,
but he doesn?t really have much use in San Diego.

Reader Comments and Retorts

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.